


Altea Orphanage

by cuttlefishbish



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Based on a Tumblr Post, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Klance if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-15 17:16:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13617981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuttlefishbish/pseuds/cuttlefishbish
Summary: Based off of a prompt by ohwhataprettypinkhat.tumblr.com___________________________________________________________They all grew up in Altea orphanage, and all eventually left... all but one that is.





	Altea Orphanage

Altea Orphanage opened its doors in 1890 over a century ago to the children of the surrounding city. It originally was built to hold over 200 kids, yet now it was down to around 40 children. Adoption rates had gone up recently and business boomed in the adoption area. Children getting homes relatively quickly after being put in. The older kids of course had a harder time finding a home, but for the most part the Orphanage was proud to say they didn't have anyone over the age of 14 still living with them. It was well into the fall when they had a new influx of children. In particular they received a group of babies and toddlers that would call the orphanage home for a few years.  
  
Allura Altea was the most shocking of their new toddlers, 2 years old and left abandoned in her home after her father passed away due to a tragic life claiming disease. Her family having owned the orphanage along with many other businesses in town, the young heiress would have to wait till she was adopted however before someone could be reinstated as owner of the company. Behind her came Takashi Shirogane was next. Born prematurely, he was without a limb when he was born and could only live with his parents for a year before they both were killed in a car accident. The baby was with a nanny luckily at the time, but he still cried for his mother all night long when she didn't come home. Keith was next, his last name unknown as he was given up for adoption at birth, just like Lance. The two babies coming in Lance curious, and baby Keith grumpy. Though when he was known to play with Lance quiet often when they would be put into bouncers.  
  
And thus a friendship was born and fostered between the small group, Takashi "Shiro" taking Keith under his wing and Lance tailing along behind them all the while. By the time that Keith and Lance were two and one respectively, Lance had Keith wrapped around his little finger. Every time Lance wanted something he couldn't reach all he had to do was yell "EEF" and the toddler would come over immediately. And if Keith couldn't reach? "IRO!" was called out instead and the six year old would pick up the item for Keith who would then give it to Lance. However, the biggest ritual between the three is Lance's hugs and kisses. Always having been a touchy baby he would constantly hug onto someone, usually Shiro or Keith, and give cheek kisses whenever they did something for him, or he just felt like it. The workers adored all the kids equally, but everyone knew that Lance held their hearts captive.  
  
When Hunk came and grew up Lance latched onto him as well, Hunk turning into the sunshine of the group as he loved sunflowers, the color yellow, his friends, and he always had a smile on for anyone who came in. Two years later the group was well on their way growing up before they met baby Katie. Shiro out of all of them was the one who adored Katie the most, Lance and Hunk both became best friends of Katie first, but the baby held a special adoration for Shiro, treating him like an elder brother like Keith did. Shiro would be the only one that could calm the babe down when she went into a fit, and would always help feed her despite being one handed at the task. Keith showed a certain amount of jealousy towards the baby, but soon came to love her as well with Katie first gave a gummy smile to Keith after he had been grumpy all day. The now four year old's heart melting slightly as he begrudgingly poked her in the cheek and she squealed happily. Allura was the eldest of the small group, at eight years old while Shiro was seven, Keith four, Lance three, Hunk two, and finally baby Katie at around 6 months old. Allura acted like all of them were her knights in shining armor. Each one she called a 'paladin' and was to watch over each other and herself, and vice versa. Their favorite colors proved to be their titles, with each one having a represented stuffy. Lance had a blue shark, Keith a red hippo, Shiro a cat, Hunk a dog, and after several hours of intense debating they had determined Katie's would be an owl. The group played for hours a day when the elders didn't have school. Keith and Lance always bickering playfully when around the others, but would insist on staying together during nap time.  
  
Allura was the first to be adopted. Granted it was by her Uncle Coran, who was just worried that she would be adopted by someone else outside of the family. Yet still Shiro was a bit heart broken to learn that she would be leaving them all within the week. So the group had to adjust. Allura promised to come visit them when they had been adopted, Coran assuring that he would keep in touch to make sure that her word was kept. So the group adjusted. Shiro became their leader after Allura left, leading them all when Keith and Lance entered Pre-K. Hunk still had a year to wait and Katie was far too young.  
  
School proved to be a challenge all of it's own. Lance was constantly being picked on, and Keith getting into fights to save Lance from being picked on. Shiro felt responsible for Keith and thus would argue with him over his own manners and Lance would have to break them up. Hunk didn't really understand the situation but he always helped by making everyone smile again after these sort of days. Even Katie couldn't help but giggle as she bounced around in her walker. But... like all good things Hunk was adopted next. A woman adopted him within the month of his fifth birthday, her a kind and loving soul who had just lost her husband in a terrible accident. Lance was happy he was adopted by someone who had as big a heart as Hunk did, though he couldn't help feel even more alone without Hunk there to help them all smile.  
  
After Hunk went Katie. Still young and just learning to walk, a boy came in named Matt who apparently knew Shiro, and found her almost immediately. It was like they were destined to be together, Matt seeming to understand Katie's babbling better than even Shiro could. She was gone the following week and off to her new home.  
  
So that left only Shiro, Keith and Lance out of their original group. Lance grew closer and closer to the pair, afraid that one day... they would leave him too. So he tried to stay with them at all times, warded off some parent even from adopting them, though that made Keith mad. The boy exclaiming, "Why shouldn't we be adopted?! It's not my fault no parents ever come to see you" and the words hurt. They bled into Lance's skin slowly and would remain there for years to come, because they were true. Hardly any couples wanted to look at Lance, always seeing an annoying and brazen little boy who was far too much to handle. So he and Keith began to fight, Shiro helpless as he watched them both ruin their friendship essentially.  
  
The final blow came however during the summer of Lance's seventh birthday. Keith and Shiro were both being adopted, by the same couple. Lance... Lance didn't know how to take the news in all honesty. He was bitter because of course he would be left alone in the system, but he was happy for them that they finally found a home and together no less. Yet the feeling of being left laid heavy in his heart and it was soon after their disappearance from his life that Lance went into a deep depression. He hardly played anymore, hardly smiled or acted like the Lance the women and men who stayed with him knew. He refused to see anymore parents, stating "They wouldn't want me anyway."  
  
When he went back to school he found that Keith and Shiro both had been pulled out of the school, and instead went to some other system. Lance... Lance was truly and utterly alone now. The bullying never stopped, so he learned to fight his own battles when he felt like it. Other days he would come back to the orphanage with bruises and cuts that he would never explain. It got to the point that the orphanage decided to pull him out of the school all together and set him in a homeschooling program instead. Lance stayed quiet during school, learning little, focusing on even less. Therapists rarely helped for a little boy whose spirit was crushed.  
  
It took years, but eventually he started to get better. Forgetting the look of his childhood friends faces, forgetting some of their adventures, forgetting them.  
  
And thus, Lance grew. He grew up into a lanky and funny teen, the oldest in the orphanage and loved by the little ones. Some kids even came back on a regular basis to see Lance again, get help on their school work, even just to play around with the elder. He loved it, Lance thrived in the system.  
  
He never truly forgot about Shiro, and Keith, nor Allura, Hunk and Katie. But he didn't bother himself with the grief that sometimes threatened to over take him. He shoved those memories aside using the logic of 'they're better off now' to keep himself going. Birthdays flew by in a flash, and finally graduation from school. He didn't know where to go exactly, he had basically worked in the orphanage all his life, he was Uncle Lance to the kids. With a smile on his face, and a way to make anyone who was upset happy again. He didn't know what else to be... He couldn't really see himself in any other job, and luckily for him when he turned eighteen that year he was offered a job. So he took it. He rented out a shitty apartment nearby, and went to work early in the morning to help wake kids up. It was a dream come true to Lance. He always felt as if he was with a giant family, and that filled his heart with glee to think about. And so his life seemed to continue flawlessly. He would wake up, work, tuck them into bed, head to bed himself after getting a bite to eat, and repeat in the morning. Working all week and every week he was able to without interference. It was a busy life, but a life that suited Lance.  
  
Until two years later when his world seemed to get a lot smaller.  
  
It had been around lunch time. He was currently juggling holding a toddler in one arm and having them eat while feeding a baby. The toddler was a new charge, and thus latched onto Lance immediately and refused to let go really. He was fine with the clinginess, it just made feeding a baby hard. Lance looked up when his name was called, a coworker (Julie) had called out to him. "You have someone asking for you in the lobby." She called coming over to take the baby from him and the toddler who refused to let go of Lance.  
  
Laughing softly at the two year olds act, he smiled up to her. "I'll just take Akira with me then." He shrugged scooping Akira up who huffed and demanded his juice box. Handing the item to him, Lance headed downstairs and to the Lobby of the building. He expected to see a child he knew, Bailey, or even Jesse, what he did not expect to see was a group of vaguely familiar people. They seemed to know who he was however, as when he came downstairs they almost immediately stopped talking looking at Lance instead. "Uh... Can I help you?" He asked cautiously unsure of the strangers as he adjusted Akira on his hip. His brain was tripping over itself as it ran to find information like who these people were.  
  
The shortest, a young woman who looked to be around 14 or 15 was the first to speak up. "You don't... Lance. It's us." She spoke with a shaky voice like she was trying to conceal emotion. She was wearing a pretty purple and white dress that went down to her lower calf along with black boots. Her hair was held back slightly by a matching headband, and the remainder of it flowed down her back in a cascade of golden amber.  
  
Behind her a paler skinned, obvious Asian man deflated slightly as he turned his back to Lance showing only a glimpse of his face. But from Lance could see he liked, surely he would remember such a cute face.. right..?  
  
"I'm sorry I don't.... wait..." Lance scrunched his face up as a small light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "Guys...?" He whispered out before Katie nodded.  
  
"Yeah... We came back." She nodded smiling brightly as Lance set down Akira who stayed close by, and went and wrapped his arms around the girl.  
  
"Oh my god! You guys actually came back!!" He cried out getting emotional way to fast in his opinion, but he couldn't help it as he sniffled and teared up. Everyone had grown up so nicely. Keith.. god Keith grew up handsome and so did Shiro. Allura grew into her beauty with bounds of long white hair flowing down her back, and Hunk... Hunk grew up to be the teddy bear he always acted like. Meanwhile lanky Lance as just a mess, with apple sauce covered work shirt, and dirty jeans on. "Oh my god this has to be a dream..." He sniffled before arms were wrapped around him tightly and he was in the center of a group hug.  
  
It was Pidge however who broke the silence. "You don't know how long we've been looking for you..."  
  
It was then that Lance began to cry.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to look at the prompt on tumblr! All credit to ohwhataprettypinkhat for the idea!
> 
> Though I have ideas about what could happen after this, so just hmu on tumblr if you'd like to see that
> 
> wetsockonyourfoot.tumblr.com


End file.
